Life Struggles start at birth.
But your legacy begins with a choice.
Rise above. Be a blessing.
The Bridge Network City Church
Outstanding life and service to God transforming our World.
A quick correction of certain falsehood raised by some here lately.
The family name Jubril-Martin is the original family name of a Brazilian returnee Muslim family of Jubril Jose Martin, a famous 19th century Muslim leader in Lagos.
They were not forced to include Martin in their name by any missionary schools as falsely claimed. Their patriarch’s name from Brazil was simply Jubril Jose Martin.
The insinuation that the other Chief Jubril Martins-Kuye (JMK,) was imposed upon to include Martins in his name to be able to attend school, is also false. After all, he still bore Jubril as a first name.
Alhaji Lam Adesina adopted Lam in place of Lamidi as a pen name in his thirties, for the purposes of his writings for The Nigerian Tribune. The huge popularity of his newspaper column ensured that it became his real name. Those who knew him prior to his newspaper fame still called him Lamidi.
Chief Richard Akinjide freely converted to Christianity and freely changed his Rashidi to Richard. Other converts in that generation happily kept their Muslim names. For example the late Chief Lamidi Sofenwa of Comprehensive Aiyetoro and Ake fame.
Justice Bola Ajibola chose to keep his religion a private affair. Not bearing his Abduljabar was not any imposition on him. Even in his later life when he became a missioner, he avoided religious labels. There are others like him; extremely devout, quiet and private men.
Many Muslim kids who attended Christian mission schools in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, bore their Muslim names without problems.
I’m not joining issues in the religious discrimination debate. Only interested in correcting historical facts.
Turn churches into 7-days-a week community centres. Subsidize energy costs and operations through grants.
Have childcare facilities, sporting complexes, libraries, free food.
Watch as children make friends and break social media, gaming & substance addiction. They will read and learn. Pick up sports. Build social skills and self-confidence.
Observe as parents regain bandwith and time for intentional and present parenting.
Young people will observe the lives of mentors and learn to love and know Christ.
Collaborations will emerge. Loneliness will reduce as people find multi-generational friendships and families.
This is my vision of the modern church. A living breathing entity in the heart of urban communities.
You are shaped by the people around you. They invite you into new worlds you otherwise would never enter.
An old love taught me to watch movie credits and what some of the technical roles were. Today, I still retain the information. I'm not sure what I'm using the knowledge for, but it's there in my experience database.
He also taught me to listen to white pop music. It was the first time I heard Iris by Goo Goo Dolls. And then I listened to Maroon 5.
Another friend would take me to dodgy local canteens in South-West Nigeria where we would feast on bushmeat & pounded yam and drink more palm wine than was good for us.
If you want to live in different spaces and worlds, get yourself a good friend. It hits better than doing it solo.
Watch this video for the reason I deliberately don't read social media comments. I post and go. The need for validation will ruin you.
Look for validation in God and at home, among the people who love you. Stop looking for it outside.
As for constructive feedback - it won't come from random social media comments. Your team and friends know how to get feedback your way. Your true customers know the channels to send you feedback.
And if you work in media, then check randomly and not often. Instead, focus on objective data analytics.
My Nigerian mother and my English father modelled hard work in a way that I never understood growing up.
My dad worked a full time job late into the evening and when his work was done, he would go and join my mum at her job in a small, hot, fast-paced restaurant kitchen until the early hours of the morning.
They came home when I was asleep and went to work when I was asleep.
When my mum left the restaurant, she opened a corner shop called KJS and would work all day and all night.
She would end up sleeping in the back room of the corner shop on a bag of rice because local kids would break in, steal things and vandalise the shop because she was pretty much the only black women in the area.
My dad again, would finish his full time job, and go straight to my mum’s shop and help her until late into the night.
The most remarkable part of this, isn’t just the fact that they worked 7-days a week to provide for their family.
It was their attitude towards their work.
They never ever described or viewed what they did as hard work.
I never ever heard them complain even once about "working hard".
They seemed to view work as the ultimate privilege, honour and opportunity.
The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realised that they were my biggest professional inspirations and influence - not because they gave me profound advice like some parents do, but because they set a profound example without needing to say a word - one that has enabled me to pursue my own dreams with a level of focused gratitude that I wouldn't have had otherwise.
"My parents were tasked with the job of survival and I with self-actualisation. What a luxury it is to search for purpose, meaning, and fulfilment." - Bo Ren